Obituary of Samuel B. Whinery

Samuel Brent Whinery, long term resident of Maplewood, N.J., passed away on May, 13, 2012. Mr. Whinery was born in New York City on June 13, 1921 and moved to Maplewood, N.J. where he resided for 84 years. Mr. Whinery was a graduate of Columbia High School, class of 1939, and attended Newark College of Engineering for two years prior to serving in WWII. Mr. Whinery served in the army from 1944-1946 where he was a Sergeant and Tank Commander for the 745th Tank Battalion, 1st Division. He received a purple heart with clusters and the bronze star for heroism during battle. Mr. Whinery was employed by Hammond Map, Inc. for 32 years where he worked in NYC as the Store Manager and then transferred to the Maplewood Office as the Operations Manager. Following his time at Hammond, Mr. Whinery worked for Burgdorff Realtors. Mr. Whinery was a dedicated public servant and served the community in a variety of capacities over the years including Boy Scout leader for troop 19 for 15 years, Vice President of the Maplewood Chamber of Commerce, member of the Maplewood Economic Development Commission, Board of Managers of the South Mountain YMCA, Co- President of the PTA of Maplewood Jr. High and various volunteer roles at Columbia High School. Mr. Whinery was a long time member of Morrow Memorial Church where he served as a Sunday School Teacher and President of the Young Adult Group. Mr. Whinery has received a variety of honors and awards including the Maple Leaf Award, The Maplewood Distinguished Service Award, an Appreciation Award from the Metropolitan YMCA of the Oranges for 25 years of service, the Good Scout Award, the Distinguished Military Service Award presented by Governor John Corzine of N.J., and several citations and resolutions from the State of N.J. Mr. Whinery was married for 47 years to the late Barema "Pat" Steiner Whinery and is survived by his children Carolyn Robbins, Virginia Reeser, Jennifer Rodriguez, John Whinery and 11 grandchildren. A memorial service celebrating Mr. Whinery's life will be held at Morrow Memorial Church, Ridgewood Rd., Maplewood, N.J. on Friday, June 8th at 2:00 PM. A reception will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the South Mountain YMCA, 13 Jefferson Ave., Maplewood, N.J. (smountainymca.org) in order to honor his love of service, children and community. Arrangements by The Jacob A. Holle Funeral Home, Maplewood N.J.